Iranian Official Says Saudi King 'Traitor to Islam,' Iterates Support for Assad

Saudi King Salman

THE JERUSALEM POST: "He should be called the traitor of the Islamic nation and against all the teachings," Iranian official says.

DAMASCUS - A senior Iranian official branded Saudi Arabia's King Salman a traitor to Islam on Thursday and equated the Gulf state's military assault on Iranian-allied fighters in Yemen with Israeli actions against Palestinians.

Alaeddin Boroujerdi, head of Iran's national security and foreign policy committee, speaking in Damascus, also reiterated his country's support for the Syrian government, which is battling an insurgency backed by Saudi Arabia.

Shi'ite Islamist Iran has been a vital ally for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad during the four-year Syrian war, providing crucial military and economic support.

Syria is a focal point in a wider regional struggle between Tehran and Riyadh and which is also playing out in Yemen.

"We are here to announced anew that our support for Syria - government and nation - is solid and continuous, and we are proud of this support," Boroujerdi said, according to a report on the Syrian state news agency SANA.

In fierce rhetoric, Boroujerdi said "God would take revenge" against the Saudi monarch for serving what he called US-Israeli interests in the war against the Shi'ite Houthi rebels. » | Reuters | Thursday, May 14, 2015